'Do better!' Lucy Hale is slammed on Twitter after joking about showing off 'baby hairs' in a shoot, prompting many to accuse her of ignorance over the phrase's racial connections

  •  The 27-year-old Pretty Little Liars star shared a photo of herself with the hair in the front of her face slicked to her forehead
  • She erroneously called the slicked hair, which was the same length as the rest of her locks, 'baby hairs' 
  • Twitter users pointed out that she didn't have 'baby hairs' - and also that the term usually refers to small, fine hairs on Latinas or African Americans
  • Lucy apologized and said she didn't realize and never meant to offend 

By Carly Stern For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:57 EST, 26 January 2017 | Updated: 03:26 EST, 27 January 2017

Lucy Hale found herself quickly apologizing — and doing some Twitter clean-up — after posting an unintentionally offensive tweet on Monday.

The 27-year-old Pretty Little Liars star was on the social media platform when she first posted a throwback photo from her Fall 2016 cover shoot with Venice Fort Lauderdale's Magazine.

Unfortunately, the actress captioned the picture with something about her 'baby hairs', which gained the attention of some followers.

Flashback! Lucy Hale posted this photo on Twitter this week from a shoot she did last year

That word you keep using... The Pretty Little Liars star said her 'baby hairs' were useful

Say what? Plenty of people pointed out that Lucy doesn't have any baby hairs

'The time my baby hairs came to good use at a shoot,' she wrote. She seemed to be referencing the slicked-down hairs toward the front of her face, which were plastered in pieces to her forehead with gel.

As several people quickly pointed out, though, these weren't 'baby hairs' — they were, simply, regular hair.

'Sis these are adult hairs,' wrote one person, while another tweeted a picture of Ariana Grande squinting with the caption: 'Baby hairs? where are they?'

Hold up: Lucy quickly deleted the picture as people started to criticize her

Some criticized her but also took the time to explain how she messed up

Mea culpa: She later apologized and said she didn't realize she'd offend people

'Baby hair' is usually used to describe the shorter, thinner hairs along the foreheads of black and Latina women

Though many people were simply confused that the star was claiming to have baby hairs when she didn't, others pointed out that the problem was that she didn't seem to know that the phrase has certain connotations.

'Baby hairs' often refer to the small, finer hair around the forehead of Latina and African American women. The hair is usually wispier and doesn't grow quite as long, and it's a beauty statement to style them with gel.

Some women simply slick them down, while others create swirling, intricate designs along their foreheads and the sides of their face.

Statement: Stars like Rihanna (left), Rita Ora (right), and Zoe Kravits have been known to style their baby hairs

While Zendaya (pictured) does subtler styling of her baby hairs, some women do more eye-catching designs

'@LucyHale check the urban dictionary before using it baby girl. You'll do better next time,' wrote one Twitter critic.

The top definition on Urban Dictionary reads: 'When you try to grease down the fine hair that's not as long as your natural hair.'

Realizing she'd offended people, Lucy hurried to removed the tweet and sent out an apology, saying: 'Sorry guys — I would never mean to offend anyone. Honestly, my bad. I wasn't thinking.'

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